Two NYSC facilities offer lap swimming: 49th and Broadway (an 18-yard pool with four lap lanes) and 91st and 3rd (a 15-yard pool with four ...

Two NYSC facilities offer lap swimming: 49th and Broadway (an 18-yard pool with four lap lanes) and 91st and 3rd (a 15-yard pool with four lanes). A third location, 34th and 2nd, lists a pool which is eight yards, and is used for aquacise.

Each September, up to 150 hardy swimmers face 65 degree water (wet-suits are mandatory), chop from wind and tide, and various water traffic ...

Each September, up to 150 hardy swimmers face 65 degree water (wet-suits are mandatory), chop from wind and tide, and various water traffic to traverse a one kilometer course from the East River Park in Manhattan to the Brooklyn Bridge Park. $75, a documented open water swim of 1.5 miles in the last three years, and chutzpa will earn you a spot.

Lap Swimming in Manhattan
Nothing beats the Zen-like mesmerism of a swim in the ocean, but here in town we do have reasonable substitutes for the real thing. Our listings include pool lengths so you don't find yourself dodging an aquacize class or flipping more often than you are breathing. The Department of Parks and Recreation runs five Olympic-sized pools (50 meters long): all are free to all comers (with a photo ID) and open from July through Labor Day. The best hotel pools are at the Mandarin Oriental (75 ft.), Trump (55 ft.), The Penisula (42 ft.), The Parker Meridian (40ft.) Millenium UN Plaza (40ft), Millenium Hilton (40 ft) and Hotel Gansevoort (45 ft.) Many New York City gyms have lap pools; though they are not all full-size, those at the New York Sports Club and the Reebok gyms are posh and clean. And you can find comraderie in your watery laps in a class or workout at Chelsea Piers.

Yorkville

Yorkville is the slightly lackluster residential neighborhood, formerly of the working class. At this point with Manhattan real estate what it is, the working class bus themselves in from the outer boroughs and neighboring states. The area runs from 79th to 96th Street east of Third Avenue. Here you will find the practical and mundane: high-rise housing, dry cleaners, supermarkets, drug stores, and video rental shops. You will also find the little gem: Gracie Mansion, the official home of the mayor of New York--though not our current mayor who maintains his own larger jewel further southwest.